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Entries in Minimum Wage
(12)

Municipalities all across the country have dived into the employment arena in the past few years. In an April 2016 publication by the National Employment Law Project, it was reported that 51 municipalities across the country have either passed or currently have pending, proposals to raise the minimum wage. So often, clients ask, what is the DOL going to do about this if we don’t comply? The answer is simply—these ordinances are not state or federal laws and accordingly neither the state DOL nor the federal DOL have the authority to enforce the ordinances resulting in the municipalities need to create enforcement mechanisms. Thus, while we always recommend complying with all applicable statutes and ordinances, it is important to be mindful of the differences in remedies that could be available to employees if the employer fails to comply.

We love boat cases! We also love it when our colleagues makes clever arguments, even if those arguments are a bit of a stretch. The casino ship Emerald Princess II hailed from the port of Brunswick, Georgia. On weekdays, she would take a boatload of adventure seekers on a six hour tour, a six hour tour. On the weekends, the good ship would sail on a five hour day cruise, then again on a six hour evening cruise. For their work, dealers received $20-35$ per shift, plus their share of the tip pool. When the weather started getting rough, the dealers sued their direct employer and the owner of the ship for violating the FLSA by not paying them overtime and for dipping their toes into the tip pool.

If not for the courage of the fearless members of the Defense team, the case would be lost.

Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon announced last week that in April Wal-Mart will pay its employees a minimum of $9.00 an hour—$1.75 more than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. Going a step further, by February of 2016, Wal-Mart has announced that its lowest hourly rate of pay will rise to $10.00 per hour. This change will affect approximately half a million Wal-Mart workers throughout the United States .

Earlier this week a District Court judge in the District of Nevada denied Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in an FLSA class action lawsuit. The case, Guy v. Casal Institute of Nevada, stems from allegations by the plaintiff that while attending a for-profit cosmetology and esthetics services school “which trains paying students to learn and practice the trades of cosmetology and esthetic services,” she was forced to work unpaid at the school’s for-profit business that provided cosmetology and esthetic services to the public for a fee. She alleges that her work did include cosmetology and esthetic services, but also included janitorial and administrative tasks which she alleges did not further her education in any regard. She has brought the FLSA claim as a class action on behalf of herself and other similarly situated employees.

On January 1, 2015, the minimum wage will increase in twenty states across the country. Included in these 20 states are many New England states. If you are currently operating in any of the below states, take note of the change in minimum wage that will take effect on Thursday:

Connecticut: Beginning January 1, 2015, employees will receive a minimum wage of $9.15 per hour with a scheduled increase to $10.10 per hour by January 1, 2017.

Massachusetts: Beginning January 1, 2015, employees will receive a minimum wage of $9.00 per hour with a scheduled increase to $11.00 per hour by January 1, 2017.

RhodeIsland: Beginning January 1, 2015, employees will receive a minimum wage of $9.00 per hour

Vermont: Beginning January 1, 2015, employees will receive a minimum wage of $9.15 per hour with a scheduled increase to $10.50 per hour by January 1, 2018.

The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its final regulations to implement Executive Order 13658, “Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors,” which was signed by President Obama on February 12, 2014. The new minimum wage will increase to $10.10 per hour under new contracts and replacement contracts with the federal government, if the contract results from a solicitation issued on or after January 1, 2015.

The new minimum wage requirement will apply to contracts and subcontracts covered by the Service Contract Act (SCA), the Davis-Bacon Act or contracts with the federal government in connection with federal property or lands and related to offering services for federal employees, their dependents or the general public (each individually a “Covered Contract”). The workers who perform work on or in connection with a Covered Contract will be entitled to the new minimum wage unless the worker is an exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), such as a bona fide executive, administrative or professional employee. Apprentices, learners or messengers whose wages are calculated pursuant to special certificates are excluded from the minimum wage requirement, as are students.